The Definition of Miraculous
by cygnus1123
Summary: Miraculous Ladybug AU. A few years after Cat Noir's disappearance, Tikki convinces Becky to let her choose a new crime-fighting partner. Tired of villainy (though no one actually believes it), Tobey's been searching for a way to truly make amends with Fair City. What Happens Next Will Shock You
1. Chapter 1

Belated AN: Hey, so I started writing this a year ago for a few friends and completely forgot how confusing this could be for people who aren't familiar with Miraculous Ladybug to read! (Thanks to Night N. Gail for bringing that to my attention.) I haven't marked this as a crossover because 1) the only thing I've taken from ML is the idea of the Miraculous/Akumas, and 2) this fandom is... very small.

If you'd like to read anyway and haven't read ML, the basics are: magical accessories (Miraculous) grant the user specific powers thanks to small and adorable demigods (kwami). The two most powerful Miraculous are the Ladybug and Black Cat (Cat Noir) Miraculous, as they grant the powers of good luck/creation and bad luck/destruction to their users. Akumas are pieces of evil magic sent by the villain (Hawkmoth, the Butterfly Miraculous user) that can turn people into supervillains if they are feeling extremely negative emotions.

Also, this does take place when our main characters are around 14-15 (freshman year of high school?), and you can assume that many of the episodes that happened in the original show have already happened in some form here.

* * *

Ladybug swung through her bedroom window right as her transformation melted away. Becky Botsford landed on her feet, knees suddenly wobbling at the sudden exhaustion which swept over her.

Freed from the earrings which she was bonded to, Tikki materialized in front of her miraculous user. "That was too close," she scolded, narrowing her blue eyes disapprovingly. Becky nodded twice but said nothing in response. She took a few steps to her bed and collapsed, groaning as she closed her eyes and let her sore muscles begin to relax.

"I should've taken Bob," Becky said finally.

"You need more help than just Bob," Tikki replied. Becky's eyes flew open and she regarded the kwami with suspicion.

"If you're trying to convince me to let you take the ring again, it's still not happening."

"I can phase through objects," Tikki pointed out. "I'm not waiting for your approval. I'm waiting for you to move on from -"

Becky inhaled sharply. "Don't."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "But Becky, you need to let me choose a new Cat Noir."

"Bob and I are fine on our own."

"Remember last week's battle with Miss Question? Or the incident with the Contrarion? You had Bob with you then, and you still barely defeated them." Tikki shook her head. "The world has changed. You can't defeat every evil which threatens this city on your own anymore."

She drifted down to rest on Becky's shoulder. "Ladybug and Cat Noir have always worked together, and it's time for that partnership to continue."

Becky let out a frustrated noise. After several seconds of silence, she forced herself to sit back up and scooted over towards her pillows. For the first time in nearly two years, Becky reached down to a drawer in her nightstand and pulled out the small safe kept safely buried behind books and papers, took a hidden chain off her neck from which dangled a small copper key, and unlocked the box. She pulled out a smaller, ornate box from inside and flipped it open, staring hollowly at the ornate silver ring which gently rested on red velvet.

"It's time, Becky," Tikki said gently.

"This ring is a curse," Becky muttered. "Not just bad luck. I can't let -" She bit her lip and snapped the lid shut again, closing her hands protectively around the box.

"It isn't a curse," Tikki said gently. She drifted down, her red glow washing over Becky's hands. "And what happened wasn't your fault."

"It was."

"No, it wasn't," Tikki said firmly. "And throwing yourself into battles without the help you need isn't keeping anyone safer."

Becky swallowed and moved a thumb over the delicate lines crossing the top of the box. Several seconds of silence passed. "Do you already have someone in mind?" she said finally.

"Yes."

"Take it, then," she whispered, letting her fingers spread so Tikki could pick up the box. Becky sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the weight on her hands lift away. She clasped her hands together and rested her elbows on her knees, propping up her head with her hands as she stared pensively into space.

•••

The ache in her stomach and tantalizing smells drifting up from the kitchen finally broke through her thoughts and convinced her to get up.

The news jingle began to play faintly from the living room as Becky made her way downstairs. She knew Bob would be waiting for her in front of the television; it was his customary spot when he was mad at her. In such a central location she couldn't ignore him forever, but he could ignore her attempts to apologize as long as he wanted without seeming incredibly rude.

That was exactly what he was currently doing.

Becky crossed in front of the TV and sank comfortably into the thick cushions next to Bob. On the television a blonde reporter spoke animatedly as a recording of Ladybug's battle with Doctor Two-Brains unfolded in the background. Becky let herself watch for a few moments, cringing slightly as she watched herself take a bad hit, then turned her attention back to the more pressing matter. "I'm sorry," she whispered to the monkey. "I didn't have time to get you, so I thought I'd try to take him on my own today."

Bob folded his arms and kept his eyes trained on the television screen.

Becky sighed. "Look, I know you're mad but can you at least talk to me, please? I need to tell you something important."

Silence.

"It's about the ring."

That did it. He glanced up at her quickly, suddenly looking worried. " _Everything all right?"_ he chattered.

"Yes - well, no." She bit her lip, suddenly filled with hesitation. She'd just slighted him, after all - what if he took it the wrong way, or if he thought it was a terrible idea? What if she made everything a hundred times worse?

But it was done, and delaying this conversation wouldn't help anything. "Sort of. I've decided to -"

"Dinner's ready!" her father sang out. She cut off with a frustrated sigh as Bob lifted up the remote and the TV fell silent with a small click.

"Later," Becky muttered to him as they stood to join their family for dinner.

•••

The empty safe still lying open on Becky's bed told Bob all he needed to know.

" _You let Tikki take the ring."_

Becky took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "Yep."

" _Finally,"_ he chirped, rolling his eyes.

She blinked. "Wait, you're… not mad?"

Bob shot her a confused frown as he settled down on her bean-bag chair. " _About earlier, yeah. But about the ring? Why would I be?"_

"Well, battles have been our thing for so long, and I didn't want you to think I was replacing you…"

He shrugged and reached for the crossword puzzle he'd abandoned earlier that day. " _I didn't think you were going to. And I'm glad we're getting more help - we need it."_

Becky snorted as she reached for the safe. "Funny, that's what Tikki said. I didn't think you two would ever agree on anything." She closed the safe with a click and kneeled down to place it back in her nightstand.

Bob smiled wryly. " _Neither did I."_

•••

Girl and monkey were working peacefully when Tikki returned to Becky's window later that evening. She smiled at the sight, then phased through the glass when Becky noticed her and looked up from her schoolwork.

"It's done," she announced. Bob held out a lazy thumbs-up and Becky smiled, though the kwami could feel the worry emanating from the girl from across the room.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: If any classmate names are unfamiliar, you should be able to look them up on the wordgirl wikia site.

* * *

A week passed with silence from superheroes and supervillains alike, then a second. Becky continued her regular patrols - with Bob, of course - but each outing was accompanied with a new feeling of apprehension that left her reluctant to begin patrols, yet also to end them.

As the days wore on she began to worry that something had gone wrong. Tikki assured her multiple times that the ring hadn't been lost and the new hero was just waiting for the right time to begin using their miraculous, but Becky couldn't understand why the kwami was so confident in a person she hadn't seen since she'd given them the ring. Even more puzzling to her was when Bob began to take Tikki's side, trying to take Becky's mind off it as much as possible after backing up the kwami.

One particular night found Becky staring morosely at a textbook spread out before her, eyes tracing and re-tracing individual letters on the page. Tikki munched on a cookie in her usual spot by the desk organizer, watching the girl's frown grow deeper as her eyes moved back to the beginning of the page once again.

"Something wrong?" the kwami finally asked.

"Two weeks."

Bob looked up at Becky from his novel and let out a questioning chirp.

She slammed her textbook shut and continued ranting, almost to herself. "I tried on my miraculous right away! I was out learning how to fight crime like, three days later!" She glanced down at the kwami settled in her customary spot by the desk organizer. "And whoever you chose still hasn't shown their face, and it's been two whole weeks."

Tikki smiled at her calmly. "Trust me, Becky, you'll meet them soon enough."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "You keep saying that, but until that happens I won't be able to get it off my mind."

" _What if you skipped patrol tonight?"_ Bob replied.

Becky stared at him. "What? I can't just skip -"

Tikki zoomed up to her eye level. "No, that's a good idea!" she said brightly. "You need to catch up on homework, correct?"

"... Yeah…"

"Take tonight off. Bob and I can watch the Ladyblog for akuma news."

Becky looked at the monkey, then back to Tikki, face betraying how much she liked the proposal as she considered her options. "But what if Cat shows up?" she said finally.

" _You'll meet Cat Noir sooner or later,"_ Bob said, waving a hand. " _Doesn't really make a difference whether it's now or later, right?"_

"I… I guess not. Here," she said, taking her phone and holding it up to Tikki.

The kwami lifted it and flew over to Bob, settling down on a bookshelf next to him. "We'll let you know if anything important happens," she promised.

"Thanks," Becky said, shooting them a grateful smile before reaching down to pull more books out of her bag.

•••

"Uh oh," Becky murmured. "Hey, Tikki?"

"Yeah?" the kwami said, idly pressing the refresh button for the millionth time.

"I need my phone back."

"... Why?"

"I'm missing notes from the bio lab."

Tikki let out a noise of acknowledgement as she carried it back over to her outstretched hand. Becky navigated to a contact labeled simply with a robot emoji and pressed _call_ , letting out an impatient sigh as she began to count the rings.

Several seconds later she rolled her eyes and ended it. "I'll just ask him for the notes tomorrow," she said, flipping her lab notebook shut and sliding it to the side. "Moving on to history…."

•••

Becky yawned and fiddled with the combination at her locker, unaware of the boy approaching her through the crowd of students like an akuma pursuing its next victim. She swung the door open and dropped her backpack by her feet, then jumped when she heard a familiar voice right beside her.

"Becky!" Scoops rested a shoulder on the lockers next to her, false cheerful smile dropping as he leaned forward and folded his arms. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She shot him a confused glance before bending down to switch out books in her bag. "Tell you what?"

"About the new Cat Noir?"

"What?!" She straightened up quickly, nearly dropping her books as she impulsively reached out to grab his shoulders. She settled for only using one hand, shaking him slightly as if that would get him to spill information. "When - where -"

"Last night!"

"Figures," she muttered, releasing his shoulder from her grip.

"You didn't know about this?"

"No, I did… sort of."

"Well, who are they?" he pressed. "Or at least, what are they like?"

Becky shrugged and placed the books in their usual locations. "Dunno, I haven't met them yet. I skipped last night to finish up the English project."

He frowned, obviously annoyed at the lack of information. "You don't know anything about them? At all?"

"I know they're not evil… I think," she amended. "That's it, sorry."

"All right," he grumbled. "Promise me an exclusive story as soon as you two start fighting together?"

Becky rolled her eyes but smiled. "Of course."

A higher, gentle voice from behind Scoops made him whirl around. "Hey, guys," Violet said cheerfully. "What are you talking about?"

"Violet! Hey!" Becky shot her a nervous grin around Scoops. "Just… stuff."

"The appearance of Cat Noir last night," Scoops said without a hint of hesitation. Becky glanced at him nervously, but he didn't catch the expression as he shifted towards Violet. "I was wondering if Becky saw anything."

"I didn't," she added.

"Ah," Violet nodded. "Oh, that reminds me. After you called, Scoops, my mom got home. She said she saw them on the way back from the art center last night."

"What did they look like?" Scoops said eagerly, automatically reaching for the pencil behind his ear.

Violet tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Well, she thought they were blonde."

"That's…" Scoops sighed and dropped his hand back to his side. "All I've already got."

Violet smiled at him. "Don't worry about this, Scoops. Maybe you don't have many details yet, but I'm sure you'll get an exclusive interview before anyone else." Scoops let out a laugh of appreciation and scratched the back of his neck, and for not the first time Becky suddenly felt as if she was intruding in… something.

But there were more important things right now than her friends having a moment. Becky slammed her locker door closed with more force than necessary and shot the two of them an innocent smile when they jumped and looked at her.

She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "We're gonna be late for homeroom, guys. Let's go."

"I actually need to drop this off at the art room," Violet said, and Becky suddenly noticed the large, dark case hanging at her side. "Supplies," she said by way of explanation as she held the case up. "See you!" And then she disappeared into the stream of students.

Becky whirled on Scoops. "Why'd you tell her?" she hissed. "You promised you'd keep this stuff secret from everyone! And what call?"

Scoops refused to look at her as they started moving towards their first class. "I… may have called Violet last night after I saw Cat Noir."

"And not me?"

"You're usually on patrol at night. You said no calls unless -"

She groaned. "Akuma, right. Fair point. I just… feel like the last person to find out, and I thought I'd be first."

"Don't worry," Scoops said. "It was late, and dark, and I haven't even updated the Ladyblog yet. I'm sure you're not the last person to find out about them."

•••

Everyone else in the school, it seemed, already knew about them.

The precious ten minutes of leisure time after their homeroom teacher rattled off announcements and took care of any issues that particular week were usually quiet, as students either opted to get some studying in or chat with friends in small clusters. Normally Becky chose to spend the time reading, as she had plenty of other opportunities to talk to Violet and Scoops during the day, and they were seated on the opposite side of the room from her.

The teacher had barely finished up when Rose leaned over her desk and tapped Scoops on the shoulder with a pen. "What've you heard about Cat Noir?" she asked, notebook already open to a fresh page before her.

Becky's hand hovered over the half-finished novel she'd set out, then dropped to her desk as curiosity won her over. As she began awkwardly angling herself sideways so she could look back at the journalists, she noticed students around her begin to do the same, watching them silently.

Scoops scooted his chair back to face her better and leaned an elbow over the back of his chair, apparently unaffected by the expectant stares aimed at him. "I was hoping to ask you the same thing."

"I saw him!" Katy said eagerly from across the room, and the class exploded.

"He's back?"

"The old Cat, or a new one?"

"Where?"

" _When?!"_

"They're a him?" Scoops asked loudly, directing his question towards Katy.

She caught his eye and shrugged. "I think so."

"I didn't see him, but my parents did," Violet repeated. "They were downtown."

Jeremy groaned. "Aww, not fair. I was downtown yesterday too, and I didn't see him at all."

Rose let out a noise of contemplation as she jotted something down. "Where was Ladybug?"

"Dunno," Scoops said as he made brief eye contact with Becky around their classmates' heads. "Usually she's patrolling at that time, but I never saw her."

"Well, I don't believe it," Tommy declared. "How do we know it wasn't some fan taking things too far?"

"Way to be cynical," Becky rolled her eyes, then let out a nervous laugh as she noticed the odd looks from her classmates.

"Cynical means distrustful of human sincerity or integrity, and I - I mean," she continued awkwardly, "Would someone really risk breaking their neck to spread a rumor that Cat Noir's back? Not that I'd know for sure, obviously, but it seems doubtful -"

"No, he's definitely the real deal," Victoria said, thankfully drawing everyone's attention to her. "Look, I'm the best at figuring out stuff like this, and I say it isn't a hoax."

Tommy crossed his arms and leaned back. "Then why hasn't he shown his face, huh? Seems pretty sketchy, if he's supposed to be a good guy."

"Maybe he didn't want everyone to know about him yet," Tobey said suddenly. "Maybe that was a… test run, or something."

A beat of silence passed as everyone stared at him; Tobey never had been a willing participant in classroom discussions.

"That… would actually make sense," someone commented, and a few classmates nodded thoughtfully.

Becky shrugged. "Guess we'll know once somebody gets akumatized," she said flatly.

"Hey, Tobey, you can choose to be akumatized whenever, right?"

Tobey shot Tommy a cold glare and turned away from the conversation. Another awkward moment passed before Rose cleared her throat and clicked her pen a couple of times.

"Anyone actually get a good look at him? Katy?"

"Yeah."

"Was he cute?" Eugene's dark-haired friend - Lucy - burst out.

"I dunno, I wasn't that close…."

Becky tuned out of the conversation as it took a turn towards a topic less important to her. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Tobey reach one hand down towards his messenger bag, seem to think better of it, and instead place an elbow on his desk so he could prop his head up. His glasses went slightly askew and his face automatically tilted slightly towards her as he leaned into his hand.

She twisted around the other way to face him better. He looked even worse when she did: drooping eyelids framed by dark circles, hair uncharacteristically messy, and a frown which he hadn't been wearing earlier (him smiling in general was odd, but the reason she remembered this one in particular was that her entering the room hadn't made it disappear).

"Tired?" Becky remarked, unable to hide an amused smirk. He'd bragged about working late nights on projects before (always robots, of course), but they'd never left him looking like this - not just sleep-deprived, but exhausted.

"Like you wouldn't believe," he grumbled, staring into space.

"Robot stuff again?"

"Hm? Uh, yeah," he said distantly. "Robut stuff. All night."

"Huh. That reminds me," she said suddenly, "Why didn't you answer my call?"

"What call?" His eyes darted to to her face, suddenly alert.

"About the next lab report?"

His arm dropped to his desk as he shifted backwards to sit up straight. "What about it? It's still due Friday, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving a hand. "It's just that I misplaced some of the data and need to copy yours down."

"Oh, uh, of course," he said quickly, and bent down to rummage through his bag.

Curiosity won over as she watched him search. "So… where were you, then?"

He paused. "Hardware store."

"Of course you were," she muttered. "Hey, that's downtown, right? Did you see -"

"No," he said sharply, yanking a folder out of his bag. "What is this, an interrogation?"

Becky rolled her eyes. "Just a friendly inquiry."

"Ah, yes, friendly," he repeated sarcastically. "Because vapid superhero gossip is my favorite conversation opener."

"What's with you today?"

"As you so keenly observed earlier, I'm tired."

She huffed. "Whatever. Do you have them or not?"

"Right here," he replied, shoving a sheet of paper at her. She took it and began copying numbers down wordlessly, handing it back with a quick thank-you as the bell began to ring.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: If you find yourself asking the questions 'But wait, why is Tobey trying to be good in the first place?" and "Is the author just being lazy and skipping the tough part of the redemption arc to get to ship fluff?" any time while reading this chapter, the answers are 'wait and see' and 'no'.

* * *

Tobey felt a twinge of guilt as he watched Becky copy down his data. It wasn't like he had never snapped at her before, but ever since a magical cat deity had begun to hitchhike in his bag and stink up his notes with cheese, he'd been even more painfully aware of the conscience he'd already been having more and more difficulty ignoring in the last several months.

He almost wished that he hadn't been so curt; any conversation with Becky would be better than the chilly silence between them now. Finding out that the entire city knew of his late-night excursion, combined with Tommy's reminder that he - Tobey - was still a supervillain in everyone's eyes, had made all excitement over the previous night vanish completely.

Becky shoved his paper back at him as the bell rang, and he nearly crumpled the paper in his haste to pack up and escape the classroom.

He'd spent two weeks trying to get used to the idea of being a hero; yet now that it was so close to becoming reality it felt more like a dream than ever, as if at any moment the ring on his finger would vanish and any chance of wooing Ladybug along with it, as if at any moment Plagg would say there had been a mistake and laugh in his face at how Tobey ever thought he could be a hero. As if the previous night had been the end of something rather than the beginning, though he hadn't the faintest idea what that something was.

•••

 _Two weeks earlier:_

It wasn't the most spectacular project ever, but it worked well enough as a peace offering.

Tobey leaned back with a satisfied sigh as he took in the product of the last few weeks of brainstorming and designing: a gardening robot. It had been a simple thing at first, just a system to water plants when his mother was too busy or found the work difficult, but it quickly got out of hand. By the time he was satisfied with it, the sprinkler system had evolved into a drone which could do anything garden-related, from monitoring each plant and suiting its specific needs to suggesting optimal landscaping designs. It even made lemonade for when the summer heat became overwhelming. (Ice cream was superior, obviously, but his mother disagreed.)

Maybe this would finally convince his mother that he'd changed.

He jumped at the sound of three sharp knocks, hastily flipping over to an older page of blueprints as his bedroom door opened and Claire McCallister poked her head into his room.

"Tobey, dinner's ready."

"Yes, Mother," he said, giving her a stiff smile. She frowned at his expression. Her eyes lingered on his pad of blueprints for a long moment before she leaned back and walked away, leaving the door open behind her.

•••

Tobey pushed the door of his laboratory open, fumbling blindly with the light switch in the dark room; the moonlight was barely bright enough to cast shadows across the floor. He blinked as yellow light flooded the room and then headed for his desk, unfolding his blueprints as he walked so he could spread them out and begin to build. He glanced up as he approached, stopping short as his eyes landed on a solitary object on his desk.

It was a box, and it was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

Tobey frowned and set the blueprints down to his left, eyes trained on the unfamiliar object before him. It was small and hexagonal, mundane save for the ornate design on the lid which glowed red. He glanced over his shoulder, as if whoever had placed it there was still lurking in the corner of the lab. He was alone.

Yes, it was sitting on his desk, but it most definitely belonged to someone else - this wasn't the sort of thing his mother would have, let alone give to him. Nevertheless, he found himself reaching for it, holding it up to eye level to better examine the peculiar markings. Up close it seemed almost alive, the red light pulsing slightly against his hand.

In a brief moment of daring which felt wrong yet somehow right, he opened it.

A sphere of bright green energy burst from the box, rising in the air before him as it expanded. Tobey flinched at the sudden light and dropped the box back onto his desk. He blinked a few times, trying to clear away the spots in his vision, but the largest one right in front of him refused to go away.

No, it was a - a -

It was a floating creature, small and catlike in appearance. The box below the creature had fallen sideways, out of which the silver ring now laying on his desk must've fallen. Catlike - and a ring -

Tobey's eyes widened. "Impossible," he breathed, reaching for the ring. "This must be…"

He hadn't seen it in years, and it was a different color than he remembered, but it had to be the Cat Noir miraculous. Hawkmoth had shown it to him countless times and he'd gotten so, so close to taking it before, and yet… here it was, sitting on his desk, plain and unassuming. If it wasn't for the creature in front of him he would never suspect it of being magical.

"Yep, you're the next Cat Noir," the creature said in a nasally voice. Tobey jumped and looked up from the ring, mouth falling open comically as he watched it chatter on. "Long time, no see, Tobes, though I guess you wouldn't remember me. I'm Plagg, and I grant you the powers of destruction. But you're already familiar with those, so moving on to more important things… what've you got for food around here?"

Tobey blinked and shook his head, still trying to figure out what was going on. "I, uh, there's a fridge in the corner with some snacks," he said distantly. Powers? Grant _him?_

"Great," Plagg said. Tobey watched him zip away, starting as he phased through the fridge door. A few seconds later he returned, grumbling as he wiped a few crumbs off his face.

"The grilled cheese was pretty good, but so small," Plagg complained. "You're gonna need to stock up on camembert - ooh, shiny," he said, taking notice of the tools hanging on the wall. He brushed a few screwdrivers, making them clink together, then flew away when they all fell off their hooks and clattered to the desk.

Tobey grabbed the ring before walking over to the mess, placing the tools back on their hooks as he shot the creature a glare - or rather, tried, because he'd already disappeared into the room's clutter. "Are you always such a nuisance?"

Plagg's voice echoed from inside one of the robots on the other side of the room. "I'm a kwami."

"No, a nuisance is a - hey, get out of my robuts," Tobey snapped. "Do you even realize the chaos you could start if you made one malfunction?"

"Yeah, but I won't," the kwami's muffled voice replied. "Hey, it's pretty cozy in here."

Tobey pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, stay in there, just don't touch any of the switches. Or wires. Or -"

"Relax, kid."

"How?" Tobey replied, starting to pace in front of the robot Plagg had settled in. "How am I supposed to relax when the Cat Noir miraculous is here, in my hand, and you're saying it's mine?"

"Yep, you're the chosen one."

Tobey snorted. "Me?"

"Mhmm," Plagg replied, obviously getting bored with the conversation.

Tobey took a deep breath. "So I'm the next Cat Noir," he said slowly, "Which means I'm getting the chance to fight alongside Ladybug…." An excited smile grew on his face as he rambled on, pacing faster. "This means I'll get to spend time around her, and I'll finally have the chance to woo her without our past getting in the way. Then someday, after I've won her over, I'll reveal myself and she'll forgive me, and she'll be mine!"

Plagg snorted. "Sounds foolproof."

"It is." Tobey slipped on the ring and held up his hand, inspecting how it looked with the addition. "How does this work, then?"

"You say 'claws out', and then -"

"Claws out!" Tobey repeated loudly, interrupting the kwami. Plagg let out a noise of surprise as he was sucked out of the robot and into the ring, turning the miraculous black. Green light crackled around Tobey in a flash. His skin tingled underneath the black suit which had materialized, as if the magical energy still lingered around - or within - him.

He turned to a rather large and flat scrap piece of metal leaning up against the wall, taking in the sight of himself. It was similar to what he remembered: black, with boots and gloves made for combat, and of course, the ears and tail which moved as if they were his own. His eyes had turned catlike behind a mask, though his looked like a tinted mask-goggles hybrid rather than a traditional mask. Something about the entire suit made him look… stronger, more confident. Heroic, almost.

Tobey blinked, and suddenly he looked like a child, dressing up in a ridiculous costume to play pretend savior.

He ripped off the ring, the transformation disappearing instantly as the kwami was forced out of the miraculous. Tobey took a deep, shuddering breath as he stared at the ring, no trace of his previous excitement left on his face.

"This… this is ridiculous," he muttered. "What am I thinking?" Plagg, who had opened his mouth to protest Tobey's rough way of detransforming, instead watched with silent curiosity as he started pacing again. "I can't just become a hero. I used to be the city's fifth most terrifying akuma! Officially! People like me aren't heroes, we - I can't just -"

Plagg rolled his eyes as he began to ramble again. "So… you're saying no to spending nearly every night with the love of your life, then?"

"She's not the love of my life," Tobey retorted, though the blush rising to his cheeks said otherwise. "It's just…." He sighed and glanced around the workroom. "I need to think about it."

The kwami shrugged. "Take all the time you need, kid. The city can last a few more days without a second superhero."

Tobey couldn't tell whether Plagg was actually trying to encourage him to think things through or just guilt him into saying yes, and the kwami ending the conversation by flying over to make a mess in a drawer of bolts didn't help.

•••

 _Two weeks later:_

Tobey was nearly finished with wiring the CPU to the main part of the robot when he pulled the last bit of wire off its spool. The segment was much too short to use for anything at this point, and he frowned as he dropped both items back onto his desk. He'd emptied the larger spools of wire earlier that day; a run to the hardware store was long overdue.

Tobey glanced at his watch. The store was still open for another half-hour, but he knew his mother wouldn't be willing to drive him into the city so late - especially since this project was supposed to be a secret. He supposed it could wait until tomorrow, but….

He found himself staring at the ring on his finger, like he'd taken to doing rather often in the past several days. "Plagg?" he said finally.

The kwami's response was muffled through the mini-fridge door. "Mhmm?"

"What do I say when I want to detransform, again?"

"Claws in."

Tobey nodded, then took a deep breath. "Claws out."

Plagg let out a yelp as the magic pulled him through the fridge door, forcing him to leave his beloved, half-eaten slice of cheese behind.

•••

With super-hearing, the late evening song of crickets was almost deafening.

Tobey clung to his backyard's fence like a magnet, staying out of the pools of light spilling from the window of his mother's office. He felt slightly less ridiculous in the suit when shrouded in darkness. As long as he stayed out of sight, he could run his errand and get home before his mother realized he was gone.

The streets were quiet as he made his way through his neighborhood, but he barely made it two streets into the busier part of town before realizing traveling on foot any farther was foolish. There was no way around the numerous street-lamps and windows, not to mention the traffic and people still out and about. But if he remembered correctly, he could use his baton to get him up on the rooftops….

Tobey reached for the baton attached on the back of his suit as he approached the side of the art building. Right on the edge of the taller buildings in the city, it was a perfect stepping-stone to the rooftops of Fair City. (Something he only knew thanks to his villain days - if only he'd known back then that he'd someday use his knowledge for _this…._ )

"All right," he muttered, staring at the sleek cylinder in his hand. Save for a glowing green paw-print, there was nothing which stood out, no buttons or controls or anything he was used to. How was he supposed to use this?

As if it could hear his thoughts it began to lengthen, impossibly fast. Tobey barely suppressed a startled cry as one end of it slammed into the ground and the other shot to the sky, pulling him up with it. He held on tightly with both hands as the ground disappeared from under him and he found himself eye-level with the second floor, third floor, then the roof of the art center. He was close enough to the edge to reach a foot out and tilt himself far enough to jump safely away from the edge. The baton shrank back as he let out a shaky breath.

From this height he could finally see the clock tower in the distance, glowing just bright enough for him to make out the time. He had fifteen minutes left before the store closed. Tobey looked down at the baton, adjusted his grip, and readied himself for a running leap.

•••

From the top of an apartment building, Tobey looked down at the hardware store across the street. He could make out silhouettes still moving inside, which was a good sign. All he had to do was detransform, and he'd have five entire minutes to run his errand.

A frightened gasp sounded from somewhere below him, and Tobey froze.

"Get moving," a gruff voice said.

A thinner voice chimed in. "Empty your pockets onto the ground and we won't hurt you."

Tobey peeked over the edge of the roof, taking in the scene with slitted eyes. Two men dressed in dark turtlenecks and makeshift masks were escorting a trembling middle-aged man deeper into the alley. He shoved his hands in his pockets and pulled them out, letting miscellaneous items scatter onto the ground. One of the men - the taller one - bent down to grab the wallet and gold pocket-watch.

 _Four minutes._

If he leapt in to help he'd be seen, and there was no going back from that.

If he didn't he could just get his supplies and leave, and nobody in the city would be the wiser about his existence.

Instinct won out over logic as Tobey found himself automatically reaching for his baton. He held it out over the edge of the roof and inded instantly, striking the man still standing in the head before shrinking back to its usual size. The man let out a cry of surprise and whirled around, fists raised. "Who was that? C'mon out and fight."

His partner stood. "Whatcha yelling at, Sam?"

"Somebody hit me on the head!"

"Nobody's there."

"I know what I felt, Jack."

"Stop it, you know I don't like the dark," the taller man muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. Tobey smirked. _Perfect._

 _Three minutes._

Tobey shrank back from the edge as he realized the man being robbed was looking towards the sky - he must've seen the baton strike. He let a few seconds pass before looking down again, and frowned as he saw that the men hadn't left yet.

A second jab aimed at the other man's head seemed to do the trick. The two thieves stopped to look around, obviously more nervous than before. One final jab and both of them began to back away from the man they'd been trying to rob. "'S not worth it," he heard one of them mutter, and the taller man nodded quickly. They turned and disappeared into the well-lit street.

The man they'd left behind let out an audible sigh of relief. He knelt down and gathered up all of the possessions he'd nearly been relieved of, then stood and wiped his brow. He looked up at where Tobey was lurking with an awed and thankful expression on his face, then straightened his jacket and walked away.

 _Two minutes._

The alley was finally empty. Tobey swung his feet over the edge and then jumped, hoping that the miraculous would grant him as much invulnerability as his akuma had. The moment his feet connected with the ground the lights in the store across the street went out. Either the clock tower was slightly off, or the employees must have decide to close up early.

He let out a growl of frustration. "If I hadn't meddled I'd have my supplies," he muttered, folding his arms as he leaned onto the wall to sulk. "Instead, I've wasted an entire half-hour, and all I did was… was…."

He suddenly remembered the surprised and relieved face of the man he'd just helped. That had been there because of _him._

A slow smile spread across his face as he took his baton back out, holding on tight as it automatically launched him back up to the rooftops. He'd already come this far; enjoying the free superpowers for a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

•••

The view from the top of the clock tower wasn't quite as good as from his robots, but he had never been able to fully appreciate it in the midst of battle anyway.

Fair City rose up before him, skyscrapers simply columns of lights hanging in the night sky above the glow of street lamps and car lights. Clouds drifted lazily across the crescent moon suspended above it all, a pale cheshire-cat grin which mirrored his own. A gust of wind whipped through the tower and he found himself laughing as a fresh surge of adrenaline coursed through him. He hadn't felt like this since the last time he'd fought Ladybug, but this time was different. He felt free in a way he had never felt while akumatized.

He felt _alive._

Tobey flinched as a loud _bong_ echoed from above, shaking the floor and walls around him, then a second. Two in the morning - he should've been back hours ago.

He sighed and pulled away from the wall. Hopefully his mother hadn't realized he was missing; he didn't fancy the idea of explaining any of this to her. At worst, she'd think he'd managed to steal the ring. At best… well, there was no better alternative.

Before he turned to leave he let his gaze linger over the city for a moment longer. The lights seemed to shine just a bit brighter as he imagined Ladybug by his side.


	4. Chapter 4

So... school happened. :/

Also, you know that popular fanon trope that LB/CN are fated to be romantic partners? Not in this story. just. getting that out there. yeah.

* * *

 _Five years prior:_

 _… But the brave princess did not falter. Triana clutched her sword tighter as flames licked the rock behind her, heat filling her nostrils and making her cheeks burn. The fire was extinguished as quickly as it had appeared, the hiss of melting stone replaced by a harsh laugh which echoed through the cavern and sent a chill down her spine. The ground beneath her feet shook as the dragon took another step forward. "Surrender now, girl. Your attempts to save him are entertaining, but futile, and I'm tiring of this game."_

 _Triana took a deep breath and closed her eyes, picturing the face of her beloved prince to steady her nerves. Then she stepped out from behind the rock and glared into the dragon's eyes, raising the jewel up as she shouted -_

"Scoot over, Becky, you're hogging the couch."

Becky glared up at her brother over her novel. "There's plenty of room," she retorted, but she moved over anyway. TJ flopped down on the space she'd cleared and grabbed the TV remote on the arm of the couch. The screen flickered on, displaying an action shot of the city's new superheroes which was immediately replaced by the two of them seated for an interview.

TJ gasped and fumbled with the remote. "It's starting!" he exclaimed, turning up the volume. "Quiet everyone!" Becky rolled her eyes at him, but stuck her bookmark back in place and set her novel down to watch.

"… for an exclusive interview!" A brown-haired man with a bright smile and a woman with auburn hair and gentle eyes waved briefly at the camera. Clad in their respective superhero outfits and sitting ramrod straight, they looked awkwardly out-of-place on the plush sofa normally used for morning talk shows and interviews with important people in suits. The blond reporter across from them, however, seemed perfectly comfortable as he cleared his throat and glanced down at something white in his hand - presumably his notes.

"So, Cat Noir," he said, directing his question to the man in black. The camera zoomed in on the duo as he spoke. "Ladybug's name is pretty obvious, but yours - why the French?"

"Ah, well, I thought it had a rather nice ring to it," the man replied with a grin. He held up his hand briefly, just long enough for Becky to catch a glimpse of a black ring with green glowing dots on it arranged in a cir- oh, a paw print. Of course.

The heroine next to him rolled her eyes. "It's because the last hero who used this miraculous used a similar name, and it caught on in Freeport City before he had a chance to choose something else."

The reporter seemed confused. "Miraculous?"

Ladybug grimaced - she must've not meant to use the word. "What gives us our powers."

"Ah. And if your partner's miraculous is a ring, yours is…"

"No comment," she said quickly, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her - no, she loosened more of her bangs so they obscured her ear and part of her face. Hadn't she been wearing earrings?

The interviewer seemed not to notice the movement, though, as he turned back to Cat Noir. "So you would rather be called something different?"

The man shrugged. "Nah, I don't mind paying homage to the French. Reminds me of the legacy I'm inheriting and all that jazz." He grinned. "Plus, I've been rather fond of them since my college study abroad. They have the best food over there - especially cheese," he added. "The French sure know their cheeses." Ladybug let out a snort and leaned back into the sofa cushion.

TJ leaned over to Becky as the reporter shuffled a few cards around. "Homage?"

"Honor or respect," she replied automatically.

"Many citizens have noticed that you two have seemed familiar with each other since your debut. Do the two of you know each other's identities?"

Cat Noir grinned and slung an arm around the woman's shoulders casually. "We're siblings, actually!"

"Cat," she hissed, waving him away and shooting him a glare which simply got an apologetic shrug as a response. She rearranged her face into a polite smile again. "And for the record, I may not look it, but I'm the older one." Her brother's eyes widened at her betrayal. She looked absolutely smug.

The interviewer looked more than amused at their antics, but by the time he turned back to the camera he'd returned to his usual practiced smile. "Stay tuned, we'll be back with more questions for the heroes of Fair City, right after this!"

The news station logo flashed across the screen, then cut to a clip of an old man wearing a crisp suit. Becky groaned as he held up a white cube and began his usual vague monologue about the useless product. "Can you mute this? Please?"

TJ obliged, then turned to his sister, grinning widely. "They're so cool," he said. "I wish I had a Miraculous of my own!"

Becky smiled - his excitement was contagious. "Well, they are siblings… guess that means I'd be Ladybug, and -"

"Uh, _no_ ," TJ said immediately. "You're not cool enough. I'm Ladybug, and Johnson can be Cat Noir."

Becky scoffed. "Whatever. Who am I supposed to be, then? Hawkmoth?"

"No, Bob's Hawkmoth. You can be an akuma." She heard Bob chuckle from behind the kitchen counter and made a mental note of the betrayal.

"I don't want to be an akuma!" Becky snapped, growing irritated.

"Great, you're already acting the part!" TJ grinned and stood up. "Hey Bob, are there any snacks over there?"

Becky crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her brother's back, unable to come up with a satisfactory comeback.

•••

 _Present day:_

"Have you seen the news, Leslie?"

Leslie tapped her fingers on her clipboard as she watched her boss rise from his chair. He folded his arms behind his back and turned to the panoramic view behind him, cutting a powerful silhouette against the city skyline. Though intimidating to most people who met with the businessman, the image had ceased to impress her years ago.

"Cat Noir's back?" she said, repeating the headline that dominated the TV during her lunch break. It was surprising that he hadn't called her in earlier.

"Yes! As soon as I draw this new hero out, I can finally complete my ultimate plan." He punctuated his words with a triumphant clench of his fist.

Leslie frowned. "Ah yes, the… ultimate plan."

"No, not that one, Leslie. The other plan."

"Ah, _that_ ultimate plan."

"Precisely."

"Are you certain, sir?"

He turned to face her completely, looking confused. "Well, yes. I was close before, and -"

"I mean, are you certain he's a hero? He hasn't shown up to a battle yet."

Her boss hummed. "You know what, Leslie? Cat Noir hasn't shown up to a battle yet. It could be fake, or better yet, he could be on my side!"

"Clever observation, sir," she said, rolling her eyes when he turned back to the window.

"Thank you, Leslie. Now, if only we had some way to find out whether he was the real deal…"

"I believe you do, sir."

"That's right, I do!" He adjusted his tie and suit coat. "Clear my afternoon, Leslie. It's time to set a trap for a cat. A cat trap, if you will." He chuckled. "Oh, I am too clever sometimes."

The rustling of butterfly wings and the man's drawn-out evil cackle escorted her from the room.

•••

 _Moments later, at the city jail…_

Maybe it was just the mouse brain, but Doctor Two-Brains had never minded staying in jail very much. Free food, time to develop new schemes, and there were always at least a few acquaintances of his in the surrounding cells if he got tired of talking to his henchmen - all in all, a welcome break from the usual grind. It also probably helped that he was never truly trapped there; yes, the jail incorporated some of his own akuma-proof technology, but there wasn't much they could do to confine someone like him. He'd play nice for as long as he felt like, and if a new scheme or valuable cheese exhibit beckoned before his time was up… well, if he had to spend a few extra weeks in community service, c'est la vie.

His second brain throbbed slightly as it sensed Hawkmoth's magic reaching out to him, weak through the jail's protection but still there. He didn't even blink as the glowing outline of a butterfly mask appeared over his face. "I just got to prison, you know," he said immediately, voice echoing around the bare cell. "Can't a man catch a break?"

 _"So I take it you haven't heard the news?"_

Two-Brains glanced towards the small TV sitting outside his cell, entertaining the guard on duty. An ad for Big Industries was playing; even without Tiny Big's face splashed across the screen, he could tell its source simply from the over-usage of green, purple, and bunnies. He wrinkled his nose at the sight. "If it's another ray gun convention I might be interested. Or a cheese exhibit, of course. But otherwise -"

 _"Cat Noir's back. I thought you'd like to be the welcoming party."_

His second brain flinched at the mention of the hero's name before his first could catch up. Two-Brains sat forward and frowned. "He's back? I…" He fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, then shook his head. "Sorry, thanks but no thanks. I'd love to give him a warm welcome, but I just got here and I haven't had a break in ages."

 _"What, are you scared? I mean, with the whole cat-mouse thing I wouldn't blame you if -"_

Though Hawkmoth couldn't see him, Two-Brains placed a hand on his chest in mock offense. "I'm hurt that you'd think I, Fair City's top villain for four years in a row, wouldn't think to prepare for this. Cats are not an issue for me anymore, I swear."

 _"Alright, alright. Hey, who's still in there?"_

The doctor leaned over to get a better look at his neighbors. "I see Chuck, the Butcher…" They looked up as they heard their names, and Two-Brains waved. "And I know Granny May's still under house arrest. Looks like if you want to throw a welcoming party you're gonna have to do without your A-listers."

The irritation in Hawkmoth's voice was apparent. _"Ugh, fine. I'll figure something out."_

Doctor Two-Brains let out a deep sigh as the connection severed. The fight between dusty memories and his mouse brain was starting to give him a headache.

•••

This wasn't how Miss Question had pictured her day, but it certainly beat community service.

She dropped a piece of trash into her bag and then stood, sensing the connection Hawkmoth was sending out to her. The usual butterfly outline appeared over her face once she'd turned away from the group.

"That's all?" she said to seemingly no one, and then grinned. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much I've missed this?"

She tied up the bag and brought it to where the trash was being collected, then began to walk away. "Hey!" Her service leader, a wiry old man, called out to her. "Your session isn't finished today!"

She turned back to him and smirked as she saw a dark shape flutter up behind him, looking for all the world like a normal butterfly save the eerily glowing patches on its wings.

"What, you think you can stop me?" she said. The man's eyes widened in fear as the akuma floated past his ear and onto her waiting palm. It immediately disappeared as the magic sank into her skin like ink. She closed her eyes and began to laugh as she felt its power rush through her veins, transforming her from the inside out.

He took two steps backwards and turned to run.

"What, community service over already?" The question mark on her chest glowed brightly for a moment before shooting a golden beam towards the man. When it hit him the light scattered into little question marks which danced around his head.

He blinked a few times and looked down in confusion at the gloves on his hands. "I… I don't know," he said slowly. "You've done a lot today, I think… I - wait… what's your name again? What's mine?"

Miss Question cackled and summoned her floating question mark. "How much more chaos can I cause before the new hero shows up?" she asked no one in particular, then hopped on and soared into the sky.

•••

Becky made her way to the front of the classroom, note cards in hand though there was little chance she'd need them. She cleared her throat, placed the cards on the podium, and scanned the room. The opposition - Emma and Angel - had their notes ready. Bob lounged at the back, keeping a protective hand over the backpack which contained Tikki. Scoops held up a timer and nodded at her to begin.

"The future of society depends on the quality of education provided to students like us. This quality depends directly on the amount of knowledge made available, and there are no better sources of knowledge - of any area - than libraries. As Wallace Bronlite so elegantly put, 'Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.'

"I propose that no less than twenty percent of the revised school budget be allocated to -"

The classroom door burst open. "Help!" A man in a green hoodie stuck his head into the room, and Becky's heart sank. "Miss Question is causing chaos in the park! Everyone's questioning their life choices! Including me!"

Becky and Bob shared worried looks as soon as the villain was mentioned. The monkey quietly began to gather up their things as the other club members stared at the man in confusion. He stared back, equally confused. "Wait, is this the police station?" he said finally.

"No, this is the high school debate club," Scoops said. "Just like it was a month ago."

"Oh, sorry," the man said sheepishly, and left. Becky's classmates looked back at her expectantly as she stared at the door. Scoops looked ready to drop everything save for his notebook and run.

"I, uh…." She shook her head and looked down at her notecards. "As I was saying, I… I forgot I had an appointment this afternoon," she said. "Scoops will take over the rest of my speeches this time?"

Scoops looked less than pleased. "Fine," he said, and slid back into his chair. "But if I miss this story, you owe me so much -"

"Yep, anything, you got it," she said quickly, and shot him a grateful smile as she made a beeline for the door.

•••

"Miss Question!" Ladybug landed in front of the villain and straightened up, moving into her battle stance. Captain Huggyface jumped off her shoulders and did the same. "What's all this for? I thought culinary school was going well."

"Do you know how many hours of community service I was sentenced to last time?" Miss Question sighed dramatically. "Is boredom a crime now?"

"No, but disrupting people at the park with akuma magic and confusing them with your -" Ladybug's eyes widened as Miss Question shot a confusion ray at her. She ducked, barely dodging the beam. "Yeah, like that, right there. A crime" She dodged a second one, rolling over to hide partially behind a bush. "Just tell me the problem this time, and I can help you," she offered.

The villain laughed. "Have you not guessed why I'm here? Do you ever watch the news?"

Ladybug frowned in thought. "Of course I… ah," she realized. "You want to draw out Cat Noir. That's why you're causing aimless chaos."

Miss Question tilted her head, confirming the hero's guess. "Well? Where is your new friend?"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Ladybug said confidently, but Miss Question knew better than anyone how to recognize doubt in someone's eyes.

•••

Tobey was heading to the checkout line for the hardware store when he felt his phone buzz. Plagg popped up from his messenger bag before he could reach for the device. "Akuma in the park," the kwami said. "Miss Question's out and about. Gonna do anything about her?"

"What, now? Can't I just finish one errand in peace?" Tobey replied crossly, turning the corner and narrowly dodging a shopping cart. "This'll only take a moment - and mind you, if I hadn't had a lapse in judgement last night, this would've been finished already."

"Alright," Plagg said with a shrug, and disappeared again. Tobey glanced at the lengthy checkout line in front of him and clutched his shopping bag tighter.

•••

"Looks like he's a no-show," Ladybug muttered to Huggy as she shot her yo-yo out towards Miss Question once again in vain. On her hovering question mark, the villain swooped easily around the projectile and giggled.

"That all you've got today?" Miss Question replied, sending another beam of confusion towards Ladybug. She ducked and rolled, then sprung back up and sent her yo-yo spinning towards the sky.

"You wish," Ladybug returned confidently. "Huggy, let's try emergency plan number three hundred and seventy-seven." Huggy nodded in understanding before leaping away.

"So, Miss Question," Ladybug said, turning back to the waiting villain. "How _is_ culinary school going?"

Miss Question crossed her arms, but stilled in the air. "Do you really think I'm going to fall for polite small talk again?"

Ladybug shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Miss Question glanced behind herself, probably looking for Huggy. "Ugh, are you just going to pity me if I said it wasn't going well?"

"No, of course not! That's too bad, though." Ladybug took a step closer. "What's the problem?"

The villain crouched, then moved to sit down on the edge of her question mark. "I just - why did I even apply? To stop my mom from pestering me about wasting my life with villainy?" She sighed. "Who would've known that baking for fun and going to school for it would be so different?"

"But you've been taking classes for years… you're just realizing this?"

Miss Question gave her a flat look. "Oh, now even epiphanies have deadlines, too?"

In the distance, she saw Huggy successfully retrieve a jump-rope from the group of kids by the playground. "No, no, it's good that you've been thinking about why you're so malcontent."

"Which means?"

"Dissatisfied, to the point of being rebellious. In your case, that seems very accurate."

Miss Question snorted.

The leaves above them rustled.

The jump-rope launched from the tree like a silver snake, flying right towards Ladybug's waiting hands. A moment later Huggy did the same, latching onto Miss Question's face like a leech. The hovering question mark tilted dangerously as she tried to simultaneously stand and pry him off, achieving neither. Both of them tumbled off the mark and Ladybug rushed over to catch them. She set Miss Question down by a nearby bench and began wrapping the jump-rope around her tightly.

With the villain's arms bound and her question mark covered, Ladybug moved to kneel down and talk her out of the akumatization, but paused as Hawkmoth's mask outline materialized over Miss Question's face.

The villain laughed as the outline vanished. "Ladybug, did you really think this would be easy?"

"Well, I mean… I've caught you," she said, confused. "The police are on their way, so -"

Ladybug fell silent as the ground beneath her shook. An unnatural crash sounded through the streets, and her head jerked up to look towards the source. A chill ran down her spine as she saw smoke rise into the sky a few blocks away. A siren began to blare and she winced at the sudden din, momentarily distracted by what was probably, come to think of it, meant to be a distraction.

As soon as Miss Question noticed Ladybug wasn't paying attention she reached up and yanked at the ends of the rope, undoing the knot in one swift movement. Before Ladybug could react Miss Question was already leaping back onto her hovering question mark.

"Hey, get back here!" Ladybug shouted after her, but the villain just smirked at her and zoomed away. The hero made a noise of frustration, torn between catching her and stopping what was probably another akuma.

"Huggy, follow her!" Ladybug shouted as she took off, not waiting for a response as she sprinted towards the chaos.

•••

Tobey was caught halfway across one of the busiest intersections of the city when the true chaos began.

He froze as the sidewalk beneath him shuddered, and he heard a crunch of metal and glass from somewhere much, much closer than he preferred. His shopping bags fell to the sidewalk, released as his hands slammed over his ears to try and dull the car alarm that began to wail nearby.

Becoming akumatized was a thrill; being near someone akumatized was terrifying. And caught out in the open, without the option of Hawkmoth's protection anymore, next to one of the most destruction-bent villains in the city - it was enough to scare the wits out of anyone, even a teenage genius.

Barely fifty feet to his right, the Whammer basked in his newly created chaos. The hulking man wore a giddy smile as he slammed his fingers together repeatedly in a carefree rhythm; a lightpost bent at an odd angle, a store sign was knocked off its hinges, a second-story window shattered to bits. Then the Whammer turned and prepared to ram his fists together for a much more powerful blow, this time aiming towards the line of cars directly in front of Tobey.

His fists collided and Tobey stumbled backwards, too stunned to think as the road crumpled and vehicles began slamming into each other, moving towards him like a line of lethal dominos -

The breath was knocked out of him as something solid collided with him from his side; red and black filled his vision for a moment before he was collapsing on pavement, safe and sound.

"Tobey, get _out of here_ ," an all-too-familiar voice hissed, and he shivered as Ladybug's warm presence vanished from around him. Tobey stood and watched as she sprinted to the car in the back of the line and peered into the window. Her shoulders sank in obvious relief as there was movement inside: safety bags being pushed around, and then a thumbs-up from the driver. She jogged along the rest of the collided vehicles, checking everyone for injuries, then threw her yo-yo back into the air and swung away from the mess.

A black shape with slitted green eyes suddenly appeared in his vision. "Earth to Tobey?"

Tobey jumped and leaned away; he'd completely forgotten about Plagg and his new powers. "What do you want?' he said distantly, trying to look past the kwami to catch a last glimpse of Ladybug.

Plagg moved to stay right in the middle of his vision, and if Ladybug hadn't just disappeared behind a rooftop Tobey would've considered attempting to swat him aside. (Did that even work on beings that could phase through objects? He filed the question away for future experimentation.) "So are you gonna go after her, or what?"

"I don't know, I wasn't expecting an akuma so soon," Tobey said, irritated. "I haven't had time to fully consider my decision." Plagg crossed his arms, managing to look nearly as disapproving as his own mother could. Tobey stared back, unmoved. "Besides, Ladybug can handle this on her own, I have more important things I need to do today, and if I hadn't wasted so much time last night - thanks to you, by the way - I could be working on them right now." He frowned. "Speaking of which, where are my…."

He finally looked back towards where he'd been standing a minute before. His supplies were scattered across the road, most of it trapped underneath cars and some of it visibly damaged.

"Seriously?!" Tobey yelled, anger welling up inside him. "Oh, come on. Nobody sabotages Theodore McCallister, the third's plans and gets away with it. I'm going to…."

He fell silent. What _was_ he going to do? Even if he wanted to take revenge through being akumatized, he couldn't. Hawkmoth's resources were spread thin between two akumas, and a third - especially of his strength - would be impossible. But if he defeated them by becoming the hero…

"Plagg, claws out," he commanded, and the kwami grinned before vanishing into the ring.


	5. Chapter 5

Perched safely on top of a building, Ladybug surveyed the trail of debris left behind by the Whammer. Her yo-yo buzzed, and she flipped it open. Huggy's face took up most of the screen, with nondescript buildings filling the background.

"The Whammer's out and about," Ladybug said. Huggy's eyes widened and he chattered worriedly. "Me too," she replied, glancing up momentarily. "I think he's heading towards the museum, but I can't tell for sure. Where are you, and where's Miss Question?"

Huggy tilted his communicator, showing her a view of City Hall and Miss Question flitting around the pillars and taking aim at random, terrified passerby. Ladybug sighed. "Why is she… ugh, never mind. Can you try and steer her closer to my location? If we can get them in the same place, maybe we can use their powers against each other. It'll at least give us a better chance against them than taking them on alone."

Huggy nodded, and the screen went dark. Ladybug flipped the yo-yo closed and moved to put it away, but stopped when she saw the center dot flash green, indicating that the Cat Noir miraculous had been activated. Her heart leapt to her chest. She flipped open the device and looked at the map - he was only a few blocks away, right next to the car crash.

She probably passed him in the street and had no idea.

Ladybug stared at the green paw-print for another long moment, then snapped the yo-yo shut and leapt up to follow the Whammer's path of destruction. From the rooftops, she swung past Miss Question and Huggy's sort-of fight without a second glance.

•••

Cat Noir sprinted through the streets as he followed the Whammer's path of destruction. He had no idea how to beat the villain, but he was certain he'd figure something out when he got there. He was a genius, after all.

A camera flash brought him back to reality, and he nearly tripped in surprise. The jolt brought him to a jog, which slowed to a stop as he realized that there were people around him, _staring_.

Thankfully, he saw no flicker of recognition on their faces.

Tobey cleared his throat and awkwardly motioned something between a salute and a wave. A little kid waved back, but everyone else stood still, waiting for something. For him to do something.

"Greetings, citizens of Fair City. As your newest h- hero," he stumbled, "I'm here to save you all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an akuma to defeat." He didn't stick around to see their reactions.

He'd only run half a block further before the familiar voice of Miss Question reached his new ears.

•••

Huggy was doing his best to keep people out of danger, but he just couldn't keep up with Miss Question when she had no rhyme or reason to her attacks. One moment aiming a confusion ray at the Mayor leaving City Hall, the next cackling as she perched on top of the building's roof - Huggy wasn't sure how long he could keep this up, let alone lure her somewhere else. She'd made it obvious that she was content right where she was, and Huggy had no bargaining chips.

He switched on his communicator and relayed a short message to Ladybug - _I can't get her to move_ \- then ducked as the villain shot yet another amnesia blast at his face.

A few seconds later, Ladybug's voice replied. "I can't get the Whammer to move any closer to you, either. I think they're trying to stay away from each other. Honestly, I'm running of ideas here -"

A third voice replied from behind Huggy. "Ahem. Maybe I could be of service?"

•••

"Who's that?" Ladybug asked, watching the Whammer carefully from a nearby rooftop. He had taken to stalking up and down the street and shooting low-power _whams_ that bent the top of each streetlamp at odd angles, but disturbed nothing else. That meant he was saving energy now.

" _Cat Noir, apparently."_

"What?" The new person was saying something else now, but she couldn't catch all of it. "Huggy. Is he here to help?"

" _I think so?"_

"Good. Get Miss Question to chase him - let's meet halfway. After that, emergency plan number eight-hundred and three should work." She snapped the communicator shut and got ready to strike.

•••

"Cat Noir?" Miss Question announced gleefully. "Not as much of a scaredy-cat as Hawkmoth thought, then?"

"Oh, please," Tobey scoffed, glaring up at the villain. He held his baton in his left hand tightly, though he had no idea what to do with the weapon yet. "As if I'd be intimidated by _your_ powers."

"Ooh, well aren't you an arrogant kid?" she laughed, flying a bit closer to the ground. "What, you get some magic ring and you think you can just show up and defeat _me_? Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?"

Miss Question shot a confusion ray at him and he stumbled to the side. She shot a second one and he flinched, accidentally raising the baton in front of him. The golden beam reflected off of it and vanished as it hit the pavement between them, leaving behind a scorched mark.

Tobey let out something between a laugh and sigh of relief, then straightened up and pointed his baton directly at her, striking what he hoped was a dramatic and intimidating pose. "I do, in fact, know exactly what I'm getting into. Do you?"

•••

Captain Huggyface, who had been watching from the sidelines and muttering into his communicator, suddenly chattered loudly and ran up to Cat Noir. "What -" he exclaimed as the monkey dragged him away from the villain. "What are you doing?" he said, almost in a whine. "I was about to defeat her."

Huggy rolled his eyes and waved to Miss Question, who returned the gesture in a silent agreement to a time-out. She turned away as Hawkmoth's mask appeared over her face and began to argue quietly.

Huggy began to explain Ladybug's plan, but stopped when Cat Noir just stared at him, utterly lost. _Right, you can't understand me._ He sighed and began typing on his communicator. The paw print on Cat Noir's baton blinked blue and the boy stared at it, flummoxed. Huggy rolled his eyes, reached over, and pressed it for him. It shrank down and the back half slid up, displaying a bunch of buttons and a screen with a text message on it.

"Lure her towards museum, Ladybug has a plan," Tobey read quietly. "Do I have the privilege of knowing what that plan is?" Huggy shrugged and typed. "'Later.' Well, that's extremely unhelpful."

A blast of question marks that landed by their feet startled both of them. Miss Question had flown much higher now; Hawkmoth's mask still lined her face but she was staring past it, at them. Her mouth opened in preparation for some witty question, but Tobey beat her to it.

"You want this, Hawkmoth?" Tobey shouted, holding up his gloved hand so Miss Question and company could see the ring. "Come and get it."

If he was akumatized, Tobey would have a million different options for winning this battle. If a more experienced superhero was in his place, they'd know exactly what to do. Tobey, however, was neither. He had a magical stick he barely knew how to wield, a seemingly limitless amount of stamina, an unfortunate lack of physical coordination, his brilliant mind, and… well, that was it. So he did the one thing he'd proven himself to be surprisingly good at that day.

He ran.

•••

An antique airplane model and the patch of ceiling it was attached to crashed to the floor beside Ladybug as she lost hold of her yo-yo's string, letting the Whammer's fists slam together. She backed up, dancing over broken vases and glass to try and get away from the battle for a moment.

The Whammer readied himself for another blast towards her and she launched back into battle mode. Her super-hearing picked up the familiar taunts of Miss Question, but she ignored the voice and stayed focused.

That was, until a black form dropped from the sky onto the floor into a crouch between her and the Whammer. The villain stopped mid-wham, startled. Ladybug simply stared.

The form straightened up, revealing signature black cat ears crowning an unfamiliar mess of blond hair. He whirled around to face her, sky-blue eyes blown wide in panic, then glanced up at the lack of ceiling he'd just fallen through and effectively scampered to the closest wall. He was breathing hard; the baton he clutched like a lifeline amplified how his hands shook, either from nerves or exertion. Great.

Miss Question swooped down a moment later to the place he'd just stood. She caught sight of the Whammer and groaned. "How did I fall for that?" she muttered. The Whammer sent her an unreciprocated wave.

Miss Question's face was suddenly enveloped in blue and brown. She yelled something muffled by monkey fur and tried, unsuccessfully, to pry Huggy off of her face. She stumbled dangerously close to the edge of her floating question mark, arms searching for something stable to grab onto.

"Good, Huggy!" Ladybug shouted. "Keep her distracted -"

The Whammer shot a blast towards Miss Question's head and sent her and Huggy flying in different directions.

"What were you thinking?!" Miss Question yelled, massaging her head as she got up .

"Oh sorry, didn't wham you there!"

"What, yes you - can you speak normally for _once?_ "

"Sure wham," the Whammer replied, and Miss Question looked like she wanted to bang her head against the wall.

As the two of them bickered, Ladybug glanced towards Cat Noir, who hadn't moved an inch. She rolled her eyes and smirked to silently communicate her amusement at the villains' antics. He returned the smile, looking slightly less tense.

But then she side-stepped towards him, and an odd expression flashed across his face. Surprise? Fear, maybe? Weird. She didn't think her public persona was that intimidating….

"Formal introductions have to wait," she whispered. "Right now, we need to figure out how to either take them out separately or use their attacks on each other. Have you used Cataclysm yet today?"

"No, I hav-" the boy cleared his throat, "-haven't".

"Good," she said, speaking low and fast. "Use it only when you must, you have five minutes after using it before you have to detransform and re-energize your kwami. They're going to try and stay away from each other, but if we can lure them into adjacent rooms and use Cataclysm on the wall separating them -"

She broke into a grin. Cat Noir frowned at her. "What?"

"Cataclysm!" she repeated, eyes shining. "I can use Lucky Charm again!"

"How does that… oh," he said, recognition dawning on his face. "Uh, good?"

They both flinched away as a golden blast of question marks scorched the wall between them. Ladybug somersaulted to take refuge behind a display, and after a moment of hesitation Cat Noir followed.

"This is terrific! This fight should be a breeze."

"Is anyone else getting bored?" Miss Question called out. "Are you really playing the mouse so soon, Cat Noir?"

"Huggy and I will figure something out, you just need to lead the Whammer to the sculpture room. Go!" Before he could respond she released her yo-yo towards the ceiling. "Lucky Charm!" she shouted, and the room filled with pink light. A shiny frying pan materialized and fell into her waiting hands.

•••

Tobey hadn't seen Ladybug - at least, in person and this close - for months. When she had turned towards him and grinned while the villains bickered, his breath caught like it was the first time he'd ever seen her.

He had drastically, fatally underestimated how nerve-wracking this would be - facing Ladybug after so long, not giving himself away immediately, pretending that he'd never met her before, that she didn't mean the absolute _world_ to him. He felt his cheeks start to warm as she began to walk towards him, and was suddenly very, very thankful for the mask the ring had granted him.

His mind stalled, every possible introduction line he'd spent the past few days obsessing over vanishing. Ladybug beat him to it, being as business-oriented as ever. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to stammer something out, let alone remember to drop his accent. Somehow, though, her mere presence made everything feel more real, and he listened intently to her instructions before Miss Question forced them to split.

The battle was over sooner than Tobey had expected. Staying out of the Whammer's way was difficult, but by the time he'd been cornered against a wall Ladybug was already ready to go. Of course she was.

He heard her yell _now!_ through the wall and shouted the word he'd been repeating in his head over and over - _Cataclysm_ \- in response. His hands, which were both pressed against the wall behind him, buzzed with a sudden rush of energy. The wall began to crumble underneath his fingers - it had worked.

Tobey fell to the ground as the Whammer's _wham_ shot towards him. A panicked shout sounded from the room behind him. The villain in front of him staggered suddenly, and Tobey suddenly noticed the yellow glow around the man's head. How -

"Good work, Huggy!" Ladybug's triumphant voice rang through the wreck of a museum, and he turned towards the sound. She was looking at - no, past him now, at the Whammer. The villain groaned; dark magic seeped out of him and converged into a small black butterfly, which only managed to fly a few feet before being captured in Ladybug's red disc and purified. Tobey scrambled to his feet as she walked towards him. His ring beeped.

"Hey, great work from you, too," she said, and his heart soared at the sight of her smile. It had been too long since he'd been fortunate enough to see it up close. "What's your name? Hero name, of course," she added quickly. "Civilian identities stay secret."

"I hadn't really -" he stumbled as he met her golden-brown eyes - "thought about it."

"Well, if you want something unique you're gonna have to think fast," she said, and pointed her thumb over her shoulder towards the front entrance. "You can't stay in the shadows forever, you know."

Police were filtering in now with handcuffs ready for the villains, and several reporters tagged along behind them (it was no surprise to see Scoops and Rose at the forefront). "I know," he said, glancing at them nervously. "But I'm not - I don't know if -"

"Not ready? You only need to be out there for a minute or so, but if you aren't feeling up to it that's totally fine," she said, and he hated the twinge of pity he heard in her voice. No, that wasn't it - he had faced reporters a million times, he used to love the attention! He didn't trust himself to not give away his identity, not in the state he was in… yes, that was definitely the only reason why he hesitated to face the crowd.

He took a deep breath. "No, I am. Let's go."

•••

 _Hero._

 _What's your name?_

 _Are you here to stay, Cat Noir?_

 _How old are you? Are you from Fair City? Do you think you're prepared to face the challenges of fighting akumas?_

 _Do you know what happened to the last Cat Noir?_

Tobey managed to channel the confidence of his younger self at first, but all the confidence in the world wouldn't be able to answer the amount of questions shouted at him in the short amount of time he had left. There were a fair amount directed at Ladybug as well, which she seemed to answer with ease.

"Classified, yes, yes, and no," he answered loudly, then nudged Ladybug as his ring beeped again. "I'm afraid I must take my leave," he said.

She nodded. "I should, too. Hey, can you meet tomorrow night? I'm busy today."

"I'm free all of tomorrow."

"Perfect! Let's meet at the clock tower around eight."

"I look forward to it," he returned as they both waved at the crowd one last time.

•••

"Claws in," Tobey whispered, and sank to the ground with a dazed smile. He could still hear people chatting in front of the museum, and decided to stay behind the bush he'd found by the back door a bit longer.

This was really happening.

He'd completely botched his first impression, but everything had worked out well in the end. He could absolutely pull off this whole hero shtick, long enough for him to win Ladybug's heart one way or another.

(And if that took quite a while, well, that was all right with him.)


End file.
